Box Score

Miami 64, Ohio 76

ATHENS, Ohio--Despite an incredibly gutsy effort by the RedHawks on Saturday afternoon, the Miami University men's basketball team (9-18; 3-11 Mid-American Conference) was topped by Ohio University (18-8; 9-5 MAC) at the Convocation Center, 76-64.

Sophomore guards Dion Wade and Abdoulaye Harouna each recorded career highs in scoring to lead the Red and White with 16 and 15 points, respectively. Wade added a team-best seven rebounds, while senior guard Eric Washington notched nine points, eight assists and five boards.

A long 3-pointer from Wade and a layup from sophomore forward Rod Mills helped Miami take an early 5-2 lead on Ohio by the 17:40 mark. The Bobcats came back with a 17-0 flurry to build a 19-5 advantage before senior forward Brian Oddo sunk a 3-pointer with just over 11 minutes to play to halt the Bobcat run, which started a 7-2 Miami surge. Washington added a jumper and Wade tossed in a layup for the RedHawks during the run to close within nine of the Bobcats by the 8:38 mark.

Neither team scored for over three minutes until Ohio's Antonio Campbell sunk a 3-pointer with just over five minutes to go in the half. Ohio used a 6-0 spurt in the final 1:11 of the half to build a 41-22 lead with 25 seconds remaining, but Washington tossed in a layup with two seconds to go to put the score at 41-24 going into the intermission.

Ohio scored six unanswered to start the second half and extend its lead to 23 by the 17:12 mark, 47-24. Miami continued to battle and used an 8-0 run fueled by two Wade triples to shrink the gap to 12 with just under 12 minutes to play, 51-39. After a Bobcat bucket, the RedHawks went on a 7-0 surge with balanced scoring to pull within seven with just over nine minutes to play, 53-46.

A Harouna 3-pointer at the 8:02 mark further shrunk the gap to five points, 54-49. After Ohio took an eight-point lead a minute later, senior forward Kalif Wright powered in a layup to put the deficit at six points, 57-51. The Bobcats scored seven unanswered to push their lead back to double figures. A layup from Wade and a free throw from Harouna again shrunk the gap to single digits, 63-54, with 2:32 to go. The Bobcats scored four unanswered to again push ahead by double figures and Miami could get no closer.

Jarron Simmons led the Bobcats with 25 points, while Campbell added 16 points and 20 rebounds.

Miami returns home for its next two, beginning with a 7 p.m. game on Tuesday, Feb. 23 against Akron. The game will be televised on ASN and ESPN3. Tuesday's game is also Paws for a Cause Night and the K9 Crew Frisbee Dogs will perform at halftime.